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Marcel Fontaine seen on surveillance video footage on-board a tugboat moored at Nanaimo's W.E. Mills Landing marina at Cameron Island. (Image Credit: Submitted)
guilty pleas

Nanaimo boat barricader pleads guilty, receiving ongoing treatment

Aug 4, 2026 | 4:19 PM

NANAIMO — A high-profile accused pleaded guilty to criminal code charges, including a high-profile boat break-in on Nanaimo’s waterfront.

Marcel Alvin Fontaine, 44, entered guilty pleas at Nanaimo Law Courts on Tuesday, Aug. 4 to six charges for incidents between late last year and early February in Nanaimo.

Charged with property offences, crimes of violence and breaching release conditions, Fontaine pleaded guilty to six of a dozen charges laid against him.

He attended a brief hearing in Nanaimo via video from the Salvation Army in Victoria, where he’s enrolled in the agency’s Addictions and Rehabilitative Centre program.

A pre-sentence report and forensic evaluation were ordered by provincial court judge Christina Proteau.

He’ll be sentenced at a later date, likely later this year.

The most notable offence by Fontaine drew a significant response from authorities, including the RCMP’s Emergency Response Team.

Fontaine had spent several hours on a custom-made tugboat he broke into on Feb. 1, causing substantial damage to the vessel.

On-board video surveillance displayed periods of calmness in which Fontaine prepares himself a meal, followed by erratic and damaging behaviour.

He was smoking what appeared to be drugs on-board the vessel.

Fontaine was released from custody, only to return to the marina the following day, which breached police-applied release conditions.

His case drew widespread public frustration since he was arrested and released three times in a matter of days following the Nanaimo marina break-in.

He has a limited criminal record.

The boat targeted in the early February incident belongs to local resident and business owner Andrew Reynolds, who reported his boat was broken into again on June 15 at W.E. Mills Landing, accessed off Cameron Island.

Reynolds criticized the Nanaimo Port Authority’s security, with the NPA telling NanaimoNewsNOW it was assessing circumstances of the mid-June incident to identify opportunities for improvement.

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